Alexander the Great (356-323 BC)

Without doubt and more than any other, Alexander the Great deserves to be called "The Great." You have to rate him within the context of the age and the environment he lived in, so a comparison to someone like Genghis Khan who stormed the world nearly 1500 years later is pointless. Alexander was literally invincible. Not only did he win every battle and siege he faced, he won 'em all in a decisive manner through broad strategic vision, brilliant tactics, dauntless courage, rock solid logistics (a most overlooked aspect of a military leader), amazing tenacity, and charismatic leadership that inspired his generals and troops. As Peter Tsouras, a modern military intelligence analyst and historian said, the likes of Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon Bonaparte may be mentioned in the same breath, "but none mastered every aspect of war with such success and such perfection as did Alexander." Although his empire splintered as soon as he died as there was no one capable of taking his ... Read more

No doubt about it, the greatest military leader ever. He had it all. He was a brilliant tactician. He was a politician. He was charasmatic, inspiring, and could actually fight which is much more than most generals. He conquered more than half of the known world before he was 30 and never lost a battle often with the odds stacked high against him. If he never died of malrya, he could have counquered the whole known world.

Did pretty well for a juvenile, sociopathic thug. Used a well executed combined arms methodology to crush a static Persian empire.I'm always a little amused by folks who praise Alexander as a great and civilized leader, while denigrating folks like Attila, Genghis, etc as barbarian slaughterers.  On numerous occasions,  Thebes, Tyre, Persepolis, Gaza, Massaga, Ora, and Aornos were all devastated and their citizens slaughtered or enslaved for their temerity in either rebelling against him or defying his army.  After the Assaceni's surrendered, on his promise of sparing their lives, Alexander ordered all their soldiers executed.While Alexander's conquests did, unlike those of Tamurlane, leave an infrastructure behind, there can be little dispute about his savagry.

most influential and succesful military leader of all time considering his short life time.

made everyone feel equal in army and had unique and innovative techniques

would be great if not for hannibals achievements

He was great, but genghis Khan could have kicked his ass. But not only was he a great strategist and greater tactician, but he was a great leader. 5 stars

He conquered most of the known ancient world at an age when most of us would be suffering a midlife crisis while wasting away in a cubicle from 9 to 5. Unfortunately, he died too young. Not to say he was a nice guy. He did kill those who stood in his way.

I dont now how people can give him a one. If they were in his shoes they would have been killed instantly. He led his army all the way to the end of the Indus, there was nothing left for him to conquer.

overrated war leader. his conquests barely lasted beyond his death.

Great military talent. Too bad he was a queer.

Like Rocky Marciano, went undefeated. Kicked the tar out of X-Man Xerxes and just about everyone else who faced him. Proof positive that fudgepackers can succeed in the military.

This man was a true LEADER:He Rode IN FRONT of his men. Try to imagine George W doing THAT !!! He was Fearless and Brilliant,well respected by his troops.When they went hungry,he did too.None of the Ivory Tower B.S. so-called leaders today exploit.

I personally fought him, and he's not so tough. 1star

I think Hannibal was better. thank for your time.

Never lost a battle, and won most of them with far inferior numbers...

Did not conquer the world. Conquered the Persian Empire. Alexander and Ceasar conquered far less territory than Genghis Khan, who conquered most of Asia.

He might get more stars if it wasn't for his alternate lifestyle, and his height, he was very short. As for being a good military leader, he was nearly the best, but there were some better, as in Caesar. He was a very very good strategist though.

He's all Greek to me.

second only to napoleon

Alexander took over most of the known world in a decade. Only once did he really struggle and that was because he had never fought elephants when india attacked him.

Alexander the great no doubt was one of the most charismatic individual that ever lived, his achievments as a military commander are awesome and his personal character was exemplary, he represents the brotherhood of man, a man as man should be , he is an ideal and a true man.

Possibly the greatest general of all time. Led his soldiers into battle and conquered all of the known world at that time. He deserves to be at the very top of the list. He had the largest empire that the world had ever seen. Nobody else in all of history had conquered the known world. This one man did it with his army. At a very young age of I believe 17, put revolutions in his father's country at bay. He was so good that his father became jealous and tried to silence and hide him. This is the best military leader of all time.

Kicked ass against overwhelmingly superior forces once and again. They don't make 'em like him anymore.

Conquered the World. The other posts sum it up.

Malaria finally killed the invincible Alexander in his early twenties. . .Alexander the Great stretched the known boundaries of the Western Civilized World. These boundaries existed up until the time of Columbus. Probably the most famous of Socrates' pupils but I should check my books on that. Simply a model for military historians.

Alexander the Great never lost a battle...ever.

The greatest military ruler and leader ever.

no doubt the greatest

An exellent General and Dictator, he conqured over 2/3 of the world known to Europeaons and Britons at the time.

If he hadn't died so early, he probably would've eventually reached more of Africa, and maybe America.

Alexander was a scholar and a conqueror. In his short life time, he only lived 33 years, Alexander managed to conquer the entire known world. He was a master administrator in the battlefield. When Alexander conquered a territory, he respected the local belief and social structures of the area. This allowed him to maintain a cohesive empire. One of his more noteworthy victories was against the Persians and Darius III, where he singlehandedly brought down the greatest empire of the day, making Macedonia the predominant power. He set out to civilize the areas he conquered by implanting classical Greek culture. This system was a precursor to Roman conquest methods that also seeked to indoctrinate foreign peoples to their ways. Alexander was a trailblazer for his times. After he died, the empire split up between his generals, who squabbled over the division of their lands. This was in effect the dissolution of all of Alexanders work. That is why historians don't give Alexander's exploits so... Read more

Alexander the Great, as his name declares, was great. Many belittle his aichievments, even ginding his voyages uninteresting. They look for Caesar, Napolean, or even the voyages of Bill Clinton, but Alex the Great conquered a lot more than people know. He conquered Egypt, one of the mightiest empires ever, than ruled it, educating it. He conquered Mesopatamia, Asia Minor, all of it. He wasn't even leading a specific country. He was a royal Greek but he wasn't leading the Atheninians or anything. He lead ythe greatest campaign ever.